


Better Together

by ImfictionWriting



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: 'Cause she is human., Backstory, F/M, Food, Friendship/Love, Higgy has scars, Mid Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27913366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImfictionWriting/pseuds/ImfictionWriting
Summary: Thomas Magnum is well known for being great at making pancakes.  What isn't so well known is that he makes great (hybrid) Welsh Cakes as well.
Relationships: Juliet Higgins/Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV
Comments: 12
Kudos: 51





	Better Together

**Author's Note:**

> Magnum P.I. 2018 Characters not mine. Just having fun.
> 
> All constructive criticism will be thoughtfully considered with a great deal of thanks in advance.  
> Please tell me of any and all oopsies. I do hope someone finds this entertaining.

“I don't get it,” Rick said wiping the surface of the bar that he and his best friend TC owned. Again. “what sort of English person doesn't like Fish and Chips?” Rick looked to his friend and shook his head.

Thomas, sitting at a stool at the bar of La Mariana took a sip of his icy cool 'Friends of The Owner Free Beer' Beer.

This time of day was great, smack bang between the lunch and dinner crowd and before the after dinner entertainment and fun that Rick liked the best. Enough tourists enjoying mid-afternoon 'restoratives' and snacks to keep the joint running, but also enough breathing space for some down-time between the rushes for all the jobs that needed doing. When Thomas Magnum wasn't working on one of his cases he would stop by for a chat and a beer if they hadn't seen each other for a few days. With their lives it wasn't that common an event as they were all so close. But from time to time it would happen.

Rick was there to oversee the staff who moved around the pair of them while they worked as they talked. It was peaceful without the rush of inevitable action that perpetually surrounded Thomas Magnum when Rick and fellow 'Brother from another Mother' “TC” helped their Private Investigator friend with his infamous 'favors'.

“Higgy is more,” Thomas thought about her food preferences, “... she is more into lightly seared Ahi or Mahi Mahi. She really likes shellfish, even raw...” Even in Hawaii where everyone ate Tuna Poke like ravenous beasts, himself included, other than raw oysters and Sashimi, raw shellfish wasn't on the radar of most of the 'Mainlanders' and 'Imports' as it was with the Locals. But Higgins seemed to indulge at every opportunity. “She is more of a salad person I suppose more about, …healthy choices. She likes vegan bacon.” The two men shared equally distasteful looks on their faces at _that_ idea. Vegan was fine. Bacon was good. Add the two together and the whole _was not_ greater than the sum of its parts.

“I saw somewhere that was just shaved slices of carrot with barbecue sauce made crispy. Hey, at the last Barbecue I saw her inhale two burgers and what looked like a dozen grilled shrimp. That girl can eat!” Rick added turning back around and leaning on the bar facing his friend. “She must have hollow legs!” Rick shook his head, “I got no idea where she puts it all!”

“Hmm.” Thomas agreed, nodding. “She's all muscle though. You know last year she had me convinced she was training for the Kona Triathlon? We would train together sometimes, competing who had the most running endurance versus speed?”

Rick nodded, putting the towel down and leaning forward, resting on his forearms against the bar.

“Yeah well, after Higgy was shot in the arm... again...” Thomas flinched and took a deep breath, then a long sip of the Pale Ale that was today's 'special'. The “ _swim”_ with Juliet bleeding, dragging her against the currents was one of _the_ most terrifying moments of his life. At times Thomas still woke up in a full body salty sweat. His lips tasting of the ocean and heart racing at the dream/memory of Higgins actually having been, thankfully only momentarily, dead.

But _dead_ none the less, not breathing. Heart barely beating in it's last tremulous thready attempts to function before he had breathed _for_ her and pushed her heart back into its proper rhythm.

Thomas took another deep breath and looked back up to his friend ignoring the barely concealed smirk that was perpetually there these days when he talked about anything to do with Higgy. He suspected what Rick, TC and even his new good friends Gordon, a police detective and Shammy a fellow veteran that TC had befriended all thought on the matter. But he disagreed.

Higgins had never _really_ indicated anything other than a working partnership and grudging respect and acceptance of him as a friend. Thomas Magnum had lost so much, he would never risk something with Juliet if it meant losing her as a friend and work partner.

Starvation, physical and psychological torture from their captors _and_ betrayal and deceit from the person he thought he would marry had all conspired to take a massive hit to his psyche. Then he would remember that Robin Masters had extended the same offer to Juliet as he had to himself, Rick and TC. This refuge in paradise. Robin wouldn't have done that if she hadn't needed, ...fixing, ...as well. Would he?

And if there was something he _did_ know, was that two broken people didn't fix each other, life wasn't a TV show.

But he was trying to be better and Abby was lovely and everything he _should_ want. Ultimately she didn't want him though. At times Thomas couldn't figure out why he was sadder, because Abby had dumped him or because he had been dumped by the first person he had really _tried_ with since Hannah?

He and Higgy were best friends in a way he wasn't friends with the rest of his brothers, yet neither of them were ready to talk. Stuck in their own ridiculous retro 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' drama with each other. Details of their lives not freely given, rather tidbits torn away painfully like being scalped, only, _only_ when there was no other choice but to tell their truth. And later, never, _ever_ discussed. That wasn't a good foundation for anything, was it?

“afterwards Higgy told me she hated swimming, that she didn't enjoy it and felt she was a terrible swimmer.” Thomas rolled his eyes and had another sip of the beer. Last weeks Lager was better. He much preferred the crisper, cleaner taste.

“So why would she enter in the Triathlon, just for fun?” Rick asked, raising his eyebrows before thinking again and grinning. “Actually that's probably the sort of thing she would find fun.”

“Ah well,” Thomas added, “I asked her the very same thing, why the Triathlon if she really hated distance swimming? You know what she said?”

Rick scoffed, “Obviously not, because you're telling me now.” He leaned back away from the bar and picked up the towel again.

Thomas scoffed as well, “This is how competitive she is, she had me convinced about the Triathlon that I focused my training on those skills, but, oh, no she was training for the Trifecta, the bloody Spartan Trifecta! Apparently 2019 was going to be 'her year', and then with finding out her friend killed her fiance and then with her arm, ...it took all the wind out of her sails. But now we are training again, 2020 Kona looks like a go.” Thomas upended the bottle and had the last sip, the very slightly fruity flavor was growing on him. He looked at the label and thought he'd best remember this one as it was probably more to Higgy's tastes.

Rick smirked at that comment. He and TC, had commented often on how the longer Magnum spent around the Brit the more he was picking up and using her casual references. Lately Thomas had been throwing in the odd 'bloody' here and there during casual conversation. Years ago both Rick and TC had quietly agreed that their brother couldn't possibly find a woman better suited for him than former MI6 and total bad-ass, Juliet Higgins. They were two peas in a pod. But the stubborn pair just wouldn't see it, or admit to it. Higgins had rapidly joined their found family and they considered her a sister now, so Rick hadn't talked about his previous secret wish, back when they'd really got to know her when she started working with his friend, for them to make him an uncle. Since Lara had taken Jake back to Brooklyn, he'd really missed the 'lil guy. Even TC hadn't known that secret. Given the way they were all traveling on the meaningful relationship front, it looked like it was Thomas who was ready to put himself out their first. Although at the moment it meant picking up the pieces after Abby had left.

Off course Higgins would pick one of the most brutal competitions, just to try it out. Rick shook his head maybe ten years ago he would be interested in entering a competition like that, but now? He looked down to his thickening middle. Perhaps he'd had enough of this 'retirement' malarkey, it wasn't as if Magnum didn't have them running around shooting and fighting the bad guys all the time. Perhaps it was time to get back to a stronger level of fitness?

“She's been shot in the same arm twice now.” Thomas put down the empty bottle and Rick, ever the efficient bar-keep, tidied it away. “Put a dent in her upper body training for the last few months.”

“Yeah, lately she's seemed to be,” Rick paused, looking for the best words. He didn't want to be the one to make comments about another person's body, of all people he knew what it was like to joke about himself getting fat in 'retirement' but then being sensitive about it when other people mentioned it, “skinny.” He said finally, grimacing at how he knew he sounded.

“Hmm, I know what you mean. I'd be worried if I didn't see her eat, all the time. She just exercises a lot. She was really cut up about not being able to compete in the Spartan. Her arm is all back to normal now, I think she'll start bulking up again soon. I mean, we haven't talked about it.” Thomas shrugged and leaned back into the stool. “But anyway, she isn't much of a Deep Fried food person.”

“Yeah,” Rick said laughing, “she said she doesn't like tea either! She is seriously the least English, English person I've ever met.”

“She's her own person...” Thomas' train of thought derailed when he realized nothing more needed to be said and he looked back to his friend. He moved forward and held out his right arm, they both leaned towards each other over the bar and knocked their shoulders against each other while gripping hands. “See ya, Brother.” Thomas leaned back and checked his pockets for keys and wallet, pulling his sunglasses down from on top of his head.

He waved an arm over his shoulder and grinned at the call of 'I'll put that beer on your tab then?' behind him as he left.

\- - -

The traffic was good, but not fantastic, on the way home and Thomas enjoyed the fresh warm air and glorious blue sky in the times he had to stop and wait for the traffic to flow again. Oahu was a beautiful island. Even when it rained it was mostly over quickly. Today was a display of it's usual clear sky splendor.

He wasn't sure what it was, but something about his conversation with Rick had set off the hamster wheel in his head. He passed an office building and his attention was drawn to the the flags whipping and snapping higher up in the breeze.

The Stars and Stripes next to a Hawaiian Flag - the Union Jack and Stripes. He couldn't help a brief loud laugh being vocalized at the thought that the Hawaiian flag was a perfect symbol for them. A mashup, just like Higgy and himself Britain and The United States.

The traffic was moving again. And so were his thoughts. The Stripes and Union Jack, itself a fusion of countries... Thomas almost didn't break in time as the idiot in front suddenly stopped to obviously point at something out the window. The Ferrari's amazing breaking ability stopping a fender bending prang that would cause Higgy to go into another amusing arm waving and wailing of complaints. Unlike what most people thought, he actually _did_ listen when she spoke, and she had referenced enough sporting endeavors and educational name drops in the almost two years they had worked together to know she had spent a large amount of time in England.

But Britain wasn't wholly English. The flag itself testament to that. And Higgy _always_ referred to herself as British. Very, very rarely English, though he was sure he had once heard her say she didn't make a good English person. 

Thomas smiled, the hamster in his brain momentarily chewing it's metaphorical fat, this would require more investigating. It was good thing he was a Private Investigator.

\- - -

Thomas Magnum may not have his own laptop, but then again technology had advanced so much in the last 10 years that mostly all he ever needed to know could be found with his mobile phone. Off course if he did end up buying a laptop he wouldn't have to seek Higgins for help as much as he did...

In the end it was a couple clicks through links on Wikipedia to find Wales. He skipped all the political and historical bits and it seemed in the whole entire year, barring a freak heatwave the highest temperature average was 66 degrees, even in the peak of summer, which was just wrong on so many levels.

“Well looky here, hamburgers and Chinese food is more popular than fish and chips...” The pictures of the fruit cakes looked good but Higgy wasn't that much of cake person. And the Welsh cakes were basically just biscuits fried on a griddle. 'Cockles, bacon and laverbread the traditional breakfast.' “Hmm, laverbread sounds Hawaiian...” He said under his breath flicking through more of the article. “Anthony Hopkins, well he sounds 'English'.” 'Perhaps they mostly have the same accent and the different accents are outside the main cities?'

Thomas returned to the top of the article about to give the Scotland entry a once over. James Bond was Scottish, but he sounded English too. Perhaps it was a 'spy thing' the accent? The red dragon in the corner of the mobiles screen caught his eye before he clicked over to the Scotland entry and his smile broadened.

\- - -

On the inside wall of the main garage at Robin's Nest was the lock box for the primary keys to all the vehicles that belonged to the estate. Despite Higgy's constant threat to change the codes, she never had. She sometimes hid the keys to the Ferrari's' and the other high performance vehicles, or added other locks to the cars, but there always were, at the very least, a copy to the keys to 'her' Range Rover available. She respected the need for egress. He respected that about her.

Among the vehicles in Robin Master's Hawaiian fleet, the Range Rover was Juliet's car the same way 'Robin 2' the 488, dream machine that it was, was his. Despite Higgy's shared love for speed and the beauty of the shiny red and black Ferrari's and other super-powered cars in this part of Robin's collection, the practical aspects of the Range Rover had won her over. Mostly it was being able to transport the Doberman's that had sealed the deal. It was her car. Everyone called it her car. Thomas didn't use it, not because he had an aversion to driving more practical cars. He didn't drive it, because it was hers. It would feel odd to do that without permission.

And on the key fob to Juliet's car was a little plastic red dragon. And that had to mean something.

Thomas grinned and closed the code and finger print lock box and went back to the guest house. Tomorrow was Saturday and their food cheat day. Perhaps he could revisit that fried scone recipe. He could make biscuits, surely frying them wouldn't be that difficult.

\- - -

The morning found Thomas reading the paper in the kitchen of the main house when he heard Higgy walking down the stairs. He glanced at his wrist watch. 0745, that was a real sleep-in for her.

“Magnum?” Juliet said as she turned the corner into the kitchen, dressed and almost all ready for the day. Dark olive, almost gray shorts with a wide tie at the waist and a white spaghetti strap singlet. “Whatever are you doing in the kitchen at this hour?”

“Morning Higgy, I brought breakfast!”

Juliet's eyebrows rose and she shook her head, but Thomas could see she had a half smile as she turned away.

He glanced at her left arm as she turned to make an espresso from the all too complicated machine that could turn on and preheat with a press of her mobile phone from rooms away. He noticed that she wasn't quite ready for the day as she still had a silicone sheet taped to her upper arm that she used at night time to help heal the scarring. All of Robin Masters' employees benefited from a top-notch health plan. Together with scar reduction therapies and the professional grade cosmetic cover up that Higgy used to cover her visible scars, without having seen the initial wounds, sometimes it was impossible to notice that her upper arm had been marred twice by bullets.

Thomas took a deep breath trying not to dwell on her injuries, but it was impossible not to remember the way she had looked when she wasn't breathing.

Higgins turned back around with her coffee. “Want one?”

Thomas shook his head, 'no'.

“What did you bring, Magnum? Fruit Loops?”

Thomas scoffed. “If I was going to bring cereal it wouldn't be anything less than Cap'n Crunch or Lucky Charms.”

Higgins grimaced a moment before laughing. “No you wouldn't.”

“Hey you're the one who suggested the Fruit Loops. I'm not a teenager anymore.” Thomas patted his belly a moment. “Gotta watch what I eat now I'm all middle-aged.”

Higgins scoffed, “Hardly.” She raised a doubting eye brow and had a sip of her coffee she'd seen enough evidence of his snacking to know the truth. “What did you bring, it smells, ...lovely actually.” On the kitchen island was a covered bread basket.

“Oh well after Rick tried to feed you English food, I made you Welsh cakes!”

Higgins frowned and opened and closed her mouth before furrowing her brow. “I only lived there until I was 8, Magnum! I'm mostly English.”

“Nah, you're 100% British!”

Higgins laughed at that. “We used to go stay with my Nain on the weekends after though.” Seeing Thomas' questioning look she elaborated. “My Nan.”

“Well, I bet they were formative years.”

Higgins rolled her eyes and had another sip of her coffee. “I'm sure you went to a lot of trouble Thomas, but I'm sorry, I'm really not a fan of traditional...”

“I know...” Thomas paused what he was about to say at her piercing direct eye contact at that comment and smiled. “I know, that's why these are Craisin and white choc chip!”

He could see she was stunned for a moment and his grin broadened.

Her eyes widened a moment then smiled. “That sounds amazing!” She moved to the rectangular woven basket and moved the towel away to reveal what must be two dozen cakes, a half dozen in a bowl, sprinkled with what looked and smelled like cinnamon sugar and the rest, plain, stacked on their sides. Leaving her coffee cup on the island she grabbed one of the unsugared ones and had a bite.

Suddenly Thomas was feeling nervous, two of the original 24 cakes that were the 'testers' had been sacrificed to the grill gods as they had burned while he timed how long they would take to cook, one had fallen on the floor as he transferred them to the basket. The misshapen 'final' one to be made with the last of the dough he had eaten. It had tasted just like he imagined a sweet scone that was 'fried' on a griddle would taste.

“I should have halved the recipe, but everything I've read said they can be frozen...” Thomas looked up to see Higgy had stopped chewing and was watching him with a grin.

“Thank you. These are wonderful, Magnum. You can make them any time.” She looked back to the half a cake she held and back over to the basket. “This would have taken you ages!”

“Yeah, I slaved over a hot stove for hours.”

Higgy, now mid chew, held a hand over her mouth. “Really?”

Thomas scoffed. “No, off course not, got em done in two batches with a grill liner on my barbecue. Thomas grabbed a side plate from the cupboard and picked out one of the cinnamon sugared cakes.

“I love this stuff, you could put cinnamon sugar on cardboard and I'd eat it.” He took a bite of the sugared version, it was over the top but good. “Oh, hey I forgot, I also brought a half pound of Opihi and some of that meaty bacon you like. 'Is in the fridge. So lunch is sorted too. But even though we are in Hawaii, the Laverbread was a step too far.”

Higgins covered her mouth and giggled. “Lava, ...lava bread?” She started laughing at him in earnest and Thomas let her enjoy her moment.

Eventually Thomas rolled his eyes. “I _know_ it's pronounced lay-ver. I _can_ do research.”

Juliet wiped the tears from her eyes. “That was the the best laugh I've had in bloody ages! But I still don't understand why you did all this and went to all this trouble.”

“OK, you got me, Happy Birthday, Higgy!”

Higgins looked stunned a moment, puzzled, before quietly saying, “But it isn't my Birthday, Magnum.”

“I know!” He started laughing too at the ridiculousness the conversation had turned into. A moment later Higgy started giggling again saying under her breath 'lava bread' and laughing again.

\- - -

“It must have been difficult as a kid moving from one country to another?”

Higgins sighed. “Hmm, that sort of thing matters to absolutely no one except school kids.”

Thomas felt guilty now that he knew her better having teased her about a lack of friends as a kid. They were both sitting at the island now side by side so he brought her back from maudlin thoughts by leaning over and knocking shoulders with her.

“I'm glad you're here now.”

“Me too.” Higgins reached for a second cake.

\- - -

Thomas licked the cinnamon sugar off his fingers after inhaling his fourth 'Welsh Cake inspired, hybrid fried biscuit'. Higgins had moved on from coffee to water and Thomas a glass of cold oat milk which while alright, wasn't in any way as good at hitting the spot as real cow juice would.

“I'm thinking next time we try chocolate with chocolate chips.”

Higgins tilted her head to the side in thought a moment before nodding. “Sounds good, or dried apple with cinnamon chips.”

“Cinnamon chips?”

“Yeah it's white choc chips with cinnamon in it...”

“No it's not, your lying, I'd know about it if it were.”

Higgins rolled her eyes. “I'm not lying Magnum. I've seen them at the shops.”

“Not at my Safeway.”

The faux argument wouldn't stop until Higgins got her laptop and started a search, grinning with righteousness at her knowledge over Magnums love affair with all things cinnamon and sugar. Thomas had another sip of his oat milk and grinned as well, staying quiet and letting her have this one.

  
  


\- - -

The next day Higgins found that next to her Range Rover key fob, the key fob to 'Robin 2' had an American flag key ring attached while a Hawaiian flag key ring was attached to all the others. She rolled her eyes and said 'Magnum' under her breath and went on with her day.

\- - -

It would take a while longer until Magnum explained what he really meant by the key rings even though back then it hadn't really meant all that it did now. Now there was even more meaning to the symbolism.

It would be about the same time Juliet learned that when Thomas couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and 'it was too hot for hot cocoa' he would indulge in a mug full of Cinnamon Toast Churros and cold milk.

“Don't judge me, I know calling these Churros is an affront to my heritage.” He'd say pointing to the box.

Thomas would learn that in the same circumstances Juliet enjoyed sliced tomato on crackers, that over time her taste had changed from an extra sprinkling of Morton sea salt flakes to now using red Alaea salt.

And the times they shared their restlessness together or worried over case details and they would kiss, Thomas Magnum would laugh and say they tasted like salted caramel, only better.

In this instance the whole _was_ greater than the sum of it's parts.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't looked too much into the personal lives of the actors playing these TV characters. I did look up a couple YouTube vids to hear Perdita's real accent and name pronunciation and I know she was born in Cardiff, but beyond that I don't really know anything about her or when she moved over the border. It's all fic, baby.  
> Welsh People of the World; please don't hate me that I didn't go the Traditional route. I encourage any and all to check out recipes for these yummy cakes. I have absolutely no idea why they haven't taken off as a Christmas food in other countries as the seem very Christmasy to me and the perfect breakfast solution for the holidays. One of the worlds mysteries.


End file.
